Wild Olive grafted to Crestview

Not long ago, Christopher Chirum was Sandestin resort’s executive chef, supervising 13 restaurants, nine chefs and more than 125 cooks. Now he’s got a place of his own. “This is a little bit different,” Chirum understated with a smile.

The Wild Olive Restaurant opened on North Pearl Street in late August. It took close to two years for Chirum and his partner, Susan McDuffie, to refurbish the 1930s era Rosalyn Kolanowski home into the casually gracious establishment patrons now experience.

“We stumbled for about a year” deciding what to call the restaurant, McDuffie said. Ultimately the eatery’s name was recommended by her daughter, inspired by Scripture (Romans 11:17-18 to be precise).

The Wild Olive boasts a warm, attractive ambience with beautiful “fatwood” floors and trim made of lumber from an 1870 Alabama cotton gin. (It is estimated the milled wood was already nearly 200 years old when it was used to build the gin.) The soft deep green walls are hung with a variety of art and artifacts, and many of the furnishings are antiques.

“The response [to the restaurant] has been real positive,” Chirum said. “We’ve been a little busier than we anticipated.”

Chirum graduated from Johnson & Wales University’s internationally acclaimed College of Culinary Arts in Providence, R.I. His menu of primarily Italian cuisine features his own sauces, some of which are influenced by French and Mediterranean cooking. Nightly specials augment the menu.

Entrées range in price from $10.95 for Spaghetti Marinara to $24.95 for an exquisite Filet Mignon Bordelaise. The Pearl Street Grouper, topped with jumbo lump crab and almonds, is the most popular entrée.

Appetizers include Choctawhatchee Bay Crab Cakes and a signature Fried Zucchini Ernesto named for Pittsburgh restaurateur Ernie Vallozzi, for whom Chirum ran several restaurants.

Desserts include such homemade specialties as key lime pie and crème brûlée, the most popular selection on the dessert menu. But many can’t resist the sinfully wonderful cannoli dipped in dark chocolate. “The cannolis are pretty popular in my family,” Chrium said. “My kids love ‘em.”

“The menu is a little Americanized,” Chef Chirum explained. “I didn’t want to bring in dishes that people weren’t familiar with.” But as patrons become more accustomed to the cuisine, he hopes to occasionally offer dishes such as veal and lamb shanks.

“I want to do some nice, rustic kind of food to see what the response is,” Chirum said.

Janice Crose is among those area residents who are already considered Wild Olive regulars. “It’s so nice to have a fine dining restaurant in Crestview,” said Crose. “What I like is that their staff is friendly and their service is good.”

Regulars such as Crose know they can call ahead and request custom dishes not offered on the menu.

As for future plans, “we would love to start having featured guest chefs doing a menu that they’d provide,” said McDuffie.

Also under consideration are “cooking classes on Monday nights,” she said, and a chef’s table in which patrons can actually sit in the kitchen, interact with Chef Chirum and his staff, and sample various dishes as they are prepared for dining room patrons.

Catering is another service under consideration. “I catered for years,” said McDuffie. “It’s something I love do.”

Open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, on Wednesday the Wild Olive starts serving afternoon lunch. Ultimately the establishment will add 23 jobs to the local economy.

“People say this is what we needed in Crestview,” said Chirum. Judging by the diverse crowd on a typical weekday night, he seems to have found his niche in the local restaurant market.

DINING AT THE WILD OLIVE

Located a block off S.R. 85 and U.S. Hwy. 90 at 797 N. Pearl St., Crestview, adjacent to the First Baptist Church. Reservations suggested but not necessary. Call (850) 682-4455.